Flame of Heart
by Witch Of Illusions
Summary: Clare doesn't understand much of where she lived previously, and when a terrifying storm passes by one night, she becomes even more confused. Sent into the Naruto Dimension, she discovers how normal she is, yet how unusual. [OCxGaara]
1. Chapter 1

"Mom! Dad! We're home!" Makoto shouted as he opened the door to our apartment. I followed suit, before he shut it.

"Welcome back, you two!" Mom's voice came from the kitchen, as it sounded.

Makoto looked at me. "I bet she's cooking dinner! Let's go see what she's making tonight!" He beamed.

"Right, let's go!" I nodded in response. We took off our shoes and put them in the cupboards, dropped off our school bags and ran to the door down the hall. "Hey mom! What are you making?" I asked as I walked over to her.

"We don't have much at the moment, so it's just rice and Miso soup until otherwise." She laughed nervously.

"Until otherwise?" I continued, but was cut off by Makoto.

"Where's dad? He's usually helping you cook when we get home..." He looked around the room.

"That's what I meant by 'otherwise' dear; he's at the store getting us a more variety of food." Mom chuckled at her son's attention span, then turned to the both of us. "I only started cooking a few minutes before you arrived, so why don't you two go do your homework while you wait?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." Makoto rubbed his neck as if he completely forgot we had school today.

"What am I going to do with you...?" It was obvious that she knew he had a great deal of homework. Mom turned to me. "Please don't tell me you have just as much as he does? I need you to keep him in check."

"I finished most of mine during study hall today. We mostly got just English and math, so it wasn't a problem for me." I stated, not sure how to phrase it.

Mom laughed; of course she knew how easy English and math would be for me. "Right. Teach him how to speak English better, in fact, teach us all how to speak English better, and we'll teach you how to speak more Japanese!"

"I'll try my best, mom. But I can't just give everything to him, of course. He has to try it himself as well." She laughed at my statement. Probably because I wasn't fluent in Japanese yet, even though I've been living with the Yukino's for about two months now.

"I'm still here, you know! Am I invisible or something?" Makoto informed us. He didn't wait for a response as he dragged me down the hall to our bags and to our room. We each sat on our beds, pulling out our books.

He glared at his paper, obviously trying to figure out what it mean and how to say it.

"Hey, Nagisa. What does this say?" He handed me the paper, giving up.

"Um, try to first pronounce it, then I'll give you a hint." I replied. There was no way I would just up and give him the answer. He wouldn't learn a thing that way!

"Uh... 'T-The bl..blue...? The blue bird fu-flies in the s-sky...' Is that it?" He struggled to pronounce the 'L,' which almost made me fall over from laughing.

"Yep! You got it! Now, what does it say?"

"Um, something about a bird, right?" He obviously was not good at English, but it's the thought that counts.

"Right. It says 'The blue bird flies in the sky.' Man, your class is hardly teaching you anything!" I exclaimed as I laid back on my bed.

"It's not my fault! I'm Japanese, you're American Clare! This is new for me!" He yelled. He may have looked angry, but it was evident that there was a playful attitude in his voice. He never used my birth name unless it was for teasing or he was frustrated. It was true. I was from America; Michigan to be exact, and I was a foreign exchange student for the year, and hopefully another if all goes well.

"Yeah, yeah. Just try to do the rest on your own, okay? I'm gonna finish my math and then I'll be done. We can watch some Higurashi later if you want." I suggested. Higurashi and Umineko were my favorite animes, and they will stay like that. I've already seen the anime about four times now, but he refuses to watch it without me. What a wimp.

"Okay, let's just do our work now." He urged. Wasn't he always the one making excuses to get out of his work?

* * *

"I'm home!" Dad's voice came from outside the door. I jolted awake as Makoto threw his pillow at me.

"Dad's home, Nagisa. Get your butt up so we can eat; I'm starving!" He informed me.

"Yeah, I kind of figured he was home loud-mouth." I sassed him. "How long was I asleep?"

Makoto ignored my comment. "Not too long. I asked you for help on a problem and when you didn't answer, I noticed you were sleeping. Probably twenty minutes at most." He shrugged. "Let's just go eat already."

"So how were your days today?" Dad asked Makoto and I. Mom looked at us curiously as she ate her rice.

"Same as always, I guess. Nothing new, really." Makoto said nonchalantly. Dad sighed at his vague response and looked towards me with slightly hopeful eyes.

"Nothing new either, other than a teacher teaching me some more kanji at lunch. Other than that, it was just an average day." I shrugged, not really knowing what to say.

"You two are no fun... You're like siblings to each other, yet you never have anything new to say." Dad joked, which earned a pinch on the ear from Makoto.

"Oh! Before you go to bed later Nagisa, I suggest you wash up quickly because there's supposed to be a storm later." Mom informed me, and the color quickly drained from my face

"Oh... Okay." I whispered. I had a horrible fear of storms, ever since I was in a horrible tornado a few years back.

* * *

_I was calmly watching TV on the couch, when a loud crash sounded off and the power went out. My birth dad was in the bathroom, so I couldn't run to him._

_About a minute later of me being absolutely confused, another loud crash went off, but this tame it was right on top of the house. The giant had split the house in half, just about six feet in front of me._

_Another tree fell seconds later, and crashed my dad's car completely. Soon, a third tree fell and blocked the only way to the basement. By then, I was soaked from the dew on the leaves, and was waiting for another tree to fall on me._

_I was paralyzed for about a good ten minutes when my dad asked me if I was alright. The tornado was gone, but it definitely left an imprint on me._

* * *

"Mom! You know she's terrified of storms!" Makoto hissed in a warning. I could only stare at my soup.

"Ah! Sorry Nagisa! I just wanted to inform you, is all...!" She stuttered, trying to clear up the awkward tension in the dining room.

"No... It's alright, I'm fine." I smiled, fake of course, but it was enough to convince them.

"You sure you're okay, Nagisa? You always freeze up whenever a storm is on its way..." Makoto asked, obviously concerned for me.

"Yep! I'm fine, don't worry about it!" I assured him. "Now, just let me go wash up, please...!"

I ran out the door towards the washroom, stripped down, and sprayed myself with the shower head. When I felt clean enough, I slipped into the tub.

I sat there for a good ten minutes, day dreaming about anything that came to mind, before deciding it was probably time to get out. Hopping out, I wrapped a towel around me as I tied my long dark hair into a bun so it wouldn't get my clothes wet. I slipped on my pajamas, but had difficulty putting on the top.

"Man, I wish I had smaller boobs... Seriously, they may not be giant milk jugs, but they definitely rival a sophomore." I whispered to myself in English. That way, if anyone happened to be hearing me, they wouldn't understand. Eventually I managed to get situated, brush my teeth, et cetera.

By now, it was about ten PM, and Makoto was surely to be asleep by now. He never was one for staying up late. Oh well, no Higurashi for him.

I opened the door to our room slowly, and sure enough, there he was; passed out on his bed. I sighed, before climbing under the covers of my own bed and shut my eyes. Usually it takes me forever to fall asleep, and tonight was one of those nights.

As soon as I had shut my eyes, a bright flash of light sparked behind my eyelids, and ten seconds later, incredibly loud thunder sounded off. My eyes snapped open at this, and I hid under the sheets, as if that would protect me. I saw another bright flash of lightning throw the covers, and I whimpered, only waiting for the boom of thunder to follow after. Strangely, it never did.

I felt a breeze on me instead. Did Makoto wake up and open the window? No, he wouldn't do that to me during a storm. So why is it colder all of a sudden...?

Peering out from under my arm, I noticed I was no longer under blankets and in the safety of my apartment, but in a forest. "Wh-What the hell...? Is this some kind of joke? What happened to the storm? I swear to god, if you're doing this to me Makoto, I'll make sure to hang you from your toe nails next time I see you...!" I muttered to myself.

I walked to the edge of the path I was on to explore, when my body felt weirder than before. "What the fuck?! Why am I wearing different clothes?!" I grabbed my head out of anger, confusion, and embarrassment. "Even my hair is in its two pigtails? Come on!" I grabbed my pigtails instead and yanked on them, only to notice something different about my hair.

I gave up asking questions that no one would answer "Okay. My hair is blue. Logic has fucked me in the ass leaving no mercy behind. I don't care if it's illegal, I'm killing the person who did this to me. I, Clare Launter slash Nagisa Tsukino, am going to stab whoever did this." I did the Shigenki no Kyojin salute as I promised myself.

There was a long silence before I realized that I had no idea where I was, and had no where to go. I decided to go through my clothes a little to see if I had any supplies.

I was wearing a white skirt with black trim, a black button-up shirt, blue tie, regular black flats, blue stockings that were mid-calf length, and a chain connecting my tie to my breast pocket. There was another one connected to the skirt waist-line, kind of like how you would see Hatsune Miku's outfit.

"Am I just some knock-off of a Vocaloid? I will not stand for this!"

That was it for the clothes, except in my breast pocket, there was a pocket knife.

"Awh shit man, it's about to go down!" I shouted, swinging it around, before becoming gloomy. "Oh god, I'm such a weeb..."


	2. Chapter 2

As I became able to function again, I walked along the path. If there's a path, it's gotta lead to something, right? The knife was in my hand, ready to strike if something bad happened.

The time of day appeared to be either dusk or dawn; it was difficult to tell due to the lack of directions. I began to run in whatever direction. The path was going either north or south, because the sun was on the other side.

It was almost too quiet, actually, it was unnerving. There weren't even birds or bugs to make a little noise. There was only the sound of silence.

I lifted my knife above my head. "SWIGGITY SWAG WHAT'S IN THE BAG!" I shouted as I sprinted down the path. Might as well make it quick, right? I'm sure I'll be fine without water and food, as long as I find somewhere to stay. Besides, I have a knife, some chains, and a whole forest around me. It shouldn't be too difficult to find some animals. And where there's animals, there's water.

Ten minutes later of constant running, I was tired out. "Man, I need to get out more." Silence. "Yeah right! Who needs exercise when I have food? Definitely not someone like me." I noticed something peculiar about my speech. "Hold on, why can't I pronounce certain words correctly anymore? I'm speaking fluent English! I bet it's becuase I've been living in Japan for two months now, frick.." I muttered. Everything was weird now that my words were more slurred and I was unable to pronounce L's like I used to. "Oh well, there's nothing I can do about that now, huh?"

As I sat down against a tree, I took this as a chance to examine my surroundings. _It definitely is getting brighter, so that's a good sign. I don't want to be traveling alone at night with only a knife to protect myself_. I though, rather than speaking. Might as well save the voice for later. _Yo, why are these trees so tall? They're abnormally huge! I could probably camp the night out up in one of those for pete's sake! _

This only spiked my curiosity as to where I was even more. The trees were the size of those in a large rainforest, yet they were oak, maple, sycamore, and spruce trees; none of which were common near the equator.

I stood after my rest, straightened my back, and shouted, "I just want to go home!"

* * *

Half an hour later, I could see the dense forestbegin to clear up, and saw large stone walls in the distance. Adrenaline rushed through me as I raced towards said monument. As if the trees were moving out of my way, I noticed there was an even larger cliff behind those walls, with several buildings in between. The cliff had four faces carved into it. I was soon face-to-face with the walls, and a very large gate.

Immediatly, all of my movement ceased as I took in what was before me.

"No. Fucking. Way." I whispered in disbelief, as my eyes widened. I lifted the knife to my arm. "Alright, it's time to test if I'm dreaming o-"

"Hey, little girl! What do you think you're doing?!" An all too familiar voice shouted at me. I turned to see the guards of the Hidden Leaf Village, Izumo and Kotetsu. Izumo was the one who had yelled at me.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I want to wake up." I explained with a 'Are you serious?' expression. "Wait. I'm not a little girl, you buttmunches!"

Kotetsu ignored my comment. "Wake up? What do you mean by that? You were about to stab yourself in the arm! There would've been blood everywhere, and paperwork would soon follow. We hate one of those things, and let me tell you, it is not the blood." What a smartmouth.

"I want to wake up. I don't know what other explanation you two morons want, so I'll just be on my jolly ol' way!" I began to skip away, until I felt a hand grasp my arm.

"No way girlie, you're suspicious. We can't leave suspicious people like you alone and allow them to wander the village." Kotetsu stated. He stared me down in the eyes.

"I have a name you know! And what makes me so suspicious?" I yanked my arm away from him, continuing our glare match.

Izumo sighed, obviously giving up trying to reason with me. He must have dealt with enough crap to care anymore. "You're suspicious because you walk through the gates like you've never seen sunlight for a year, then you try to stab yourself in the arm. If you just come with us to see the Hokage, we won't bug you any longer. How does that sound?"

"Hm... Alright, as long as I'm not put into a prison-I'm innocent-then I'll come along with you two nerds." I held my elbow and put my hand against my chin, attempting to look intellegent.

Kotetsu didn't like that I had insulted them, but Izumo ignored it. "We make no promises on that part, but we can at least try. Can we go now?"

"Sure. Also, a fun fact you should know about me; if I refuse something twice, offer it again and I'll most likely agree to it." I smirked. It was true; I usually refused help from others until they proved that they were persistent. Kotetsu facepalmed.

"For fuck's sake...!"

"Kotetsu, just ignore it. When we take her to Lady Tsunade, you won't have to deal with her any longer." The brown-haired male reasoned with his comrade.

"Fine, alright. Let's go, brat." He began to walk away.

"Hey! The name's-!" _Shit. I felt Izumo's hand earlier when he grabbed me. If this truly were a dream, then I wouldn't be able to feel a thing. Should I tell them my name is Clare, or Nagisa? _They had looked at me with curiosity for I had cut myself off. "The name's Nagisa, you bastard! I'm human too, you know!"

Kotetsu waved me off. "Yeah, yeah Naho. We're all human. It doesn't matter."

"It's Nagisa! I swear to god I would stab you thirty-seven times in the chest if it weren't illegal!" My skin turned hot. I would not be able to get along with this guy in the future, would I? Another sigh escaped Izumo's mouth. He didn't want to deal with something like this so early in the morning.

* * *

"Here we are. Whatever you do, _please _don't piss off the Hokage. We could all lose our heads if that were to happen." Izumo warned me. I nodded as though I didn't already know what monstrous strength Tsunade had. Kotetsu hesitently knocked.

"Come in!" The stern voice that could only belong to the Fifth Hokage called out. Kotetsu opened the door and walked in the room, Izumo and I following suit. "Izumo and Kotetsu? Your shifts are not yet over yet, get back to work!"

_You're one to talk, Tsunade... _

"Huh? Who's this?" She questioned, leaning over her desk to peer at me.

"This is Nagami. She walked in the village looking like she had seen a murder take place." Kotetsu answered in my place.

"How many times do I have to tell your flea-sized brain?! It's Nagisa, you moron!" I shouted at him, and I heard Tsunade let out a soft chuckle at my outburst.

"Interesting girl. Tell me, what are you doing here?" She acknowledged.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. One moment I'm home with my foster brother or whatever you call him about to go to sleep, and then I find myself in a forest! I'm even more confused than you people are!" I informed them.

"Hm... Izumo! Kotetsu! You two are free to go! I'll have her stay here until otherwise." She stated. The two saluted and jolted out the door back to the gates.

"So, your name is Nagisa, huh?" She asked with a motherly tone.

"Finally someone gets it right! That stupid idiot didn't even bother listening to me back there! I found someone with intellegence! Banzai!" I threw my arms up into the air and spun in a circle.

Tsunade laughed even more at my outburst and actions. "You're energetic and full of life, and you don't seem like someoen with evil intent. I'm thinking I can trust you, can I not?" I was taken aback by her seriousness, but nodded nevertheless. "Good, because I don't think you could do much harm in your current state."

"My current state...? What do you mean by that?" I asked. I felt perfectly fine other than a little shock and fatigue.

"You haven't slept in a while, have you?" I shook my head. "That's obvious for sure. And it's in plain sight that your chakra is at a very low state. Strange, you don't seem to be showing any signs of a battle or stress, so why is it so low?" Tsunade squinted as if she were peering into my very soul. "Come here, I'll try to figure out why it's like that."

I walked over to her as she held out her hands to my stomach. Green chakra began emitting from them and after a few minutes, Tsunade's eyes widened.

"What...? Your chakra is incredibly old, yet you've never used any of it!"

"Maybe it's because I've never used chakra before...?" I squeaked out a question.

"You what?"

"I never knew I had chakra before about five minutes ago. That might be why it's so weak and small." I explained.

"R-Really?" She was obviously surprised that I've never knew I had chakra, let alone use it. "But, that does seem to be the most logical explanation that comes to mind. I'll try not to dwell on it for too long. For now, we must find you a place to stay, Nagisa."

_So much for asking me if I wanted to live here..._

"Um, okay. But if it isn't too much to ask, could I possibly train to become a ninja? I want to see what it's like so I won't feel like I'm freeloading off of the village." I questioned.

"We'll have to see about that. Maybe I could get Kakashi to teach you the basics, seeing as you would probably hate being stuck with younger children at the Academy. I'll think about it. In the meantime, I suggest you go explore around the village for a while. When I've made my mind, I'll send someone to get you, okay?" She reasoned. I nodded. "You are dismissed!"

I quickly exited the doors and made my way out of the building. After about ten minutes of walking to no where, I somehow managed to discover the training grounds.

"Well aren't I one lucky bastard, huh?" I sat down against a tree and shut my eyes, fatigue finally devouring me.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, girl. Wake up." A stern voice said, waking me from my wonderful nap. I refused to open my eyes, and I felt a foot prod me in the side. "Wake up, Lady Tsunade sent us to help you with the ninja basics. That's what you wanted, right?" He asked. I rememebered where I was when he mentioned Tsunade's name and suddenly he sounded all too familiar.

My blue eyes shot open and stared at Team Gai standing around me.

"Geez, it took us forever to find you, and then you refused to wake up. I really hope that Lady Tsunade is in her right mind that we can teach you." Tenten sighed, placing her hand up to her forehead.

"Hey! It's not my fault! I have insomnia, and I didn't get any sleep last night! What do you expect from me?" I spat as I crossed my arms over my chest. It took me a few seconds to notice what they were wearing. _They're not wearing their outfits from Shippuden, which means we're all around the same age! Thank Featherine!_

"Excellent spirit! A great key to success, my new young pupil!" Gai shouted as he gave me a thumbs up and his signature grin.

"We will assist you in becoming an incredible ninja! Please, tell us your name!" Lee, of course, had the same attitude as Gai.

"Nagisa Tsukino!" Shingeki no Kyojin salute. "I humbly thank you for helping a beginner such as me with the ninja arts!" Might as well enjoy this while it lasts, huh?

Tenten sighed. "Oh no, I can just tell she'll end up just like those two soon..."

Gai ignored her comment. "What shall we teach you, Nagisa? We are mostly a taijutsu team, so I am afraid we cannot do much in other arts, but we can get you to excel!" He suggested.

"Um," I put a finger to my chin. "maybe first I could learn your names? That's a crucial fact when training with others, am I correct?" _I don't want to screw anything up and cause suspicions..._

Lee looked shocked that he had forgotten something so important. "I'm so sorry, Gai-Sensei! I have failed you! Please, forgive me!" He cried very anime-like tears, oh the irony.

"Do not fret, Lee! I am also at fault here! As your sensei, it is my duty to remember to introduce ourselves!" Gai replied, also anime-tears falling down his face.

Tenten slid over to me. "These two will probably be like this for a few minutes. I'm Tenten, the one who woke you up was Neji, and you already know the two morons over there." She insinuated in my ear. I nodded as if it was all fresh information to me. Damn, I should've been an actor back in my world, because I had some mad skills.

"Ah, thanks." I began to tune the two crying weird people out as I turned to the more normal ones. "I was thinking that since I got an option to pick what I wanted to be taught first, Tenten, you seem like you know a lot about weapons. Could you possibly help me pick a suitable weapon and train me a little?"

Her face seemed to brighten up a little, even though there was a hint of confusion as to how I knew her speciality. "Of course, Nagisa! I would love to!" She pulled out a scroll from her pocket and released a whole variety of weapons. Neji knew he wouldn't need to take part in anything soon, so he walked over to a tree and leaned against it. "Try out what seems to suit you best!" She exclaimed

I walked over to the pile of sharp objects and glanced over every one of them. None seemed to spark my interest except two. A scythe and a large sword, to be exact.

"I see you're looking at the scythe and sword, correct? I good choice, I must say." She nodded in approval. By now, Gai and Lee had gotten over their dramatic sob fest and stood off to the edge of the clearing, waiting to see what Tenten and I would do next.

"Really? Thanks, but I've never really used a weapon other than a knife before." I pulled out my pocket knife and waved it in the air. "Even then, I never did much with it. I apologize in advance if I become a nuiscance with this topic, Tenten." I tossed the knife to the side, and knelt down next to the two large blades, observing them closely.

"Are you serious? Well, this should be fun, then! And don't apologize, we all have to start somewhere, don't we? Even if I do appen to lose my patience, which I highly doubt will happen, we can switch to taijutus for a while. Trust me, you'll be fine. Now, pick one of those up and see how well you can handle it." She reassured me. I knew I always loved her character, and now I have more of a reason to.

"Thank you so much Tenten!" I said before grabbing a hold onto the scythe. I struggled to get it off the ground at first, but then it strangely became lighter. I looked up to see Tenten holding part of it up.

"Sorry, but it was stuck in the ground." She sheepishly chuckled. "So, how does it feel?" She let go, and weight poured onto the blade, but not as heavy as before.

"It's a little heavy, but I can't say much about it at the moment, I'm afriad to say." I admitted; I really liked scythes, so I was hoping that I would excel using it better than a sword. But in the moment, it seemed like a sword would be much more simpler to use.

"Of course it's a little heavy; you are a beginner after all! You'll get used to it if it's fit enough for you to use. Now, try to swing it."

I nodded, and struggled to lift it up off the ground. When that task was accomplished, I desperately tried to lift it over my shoulder, to no avail.

"Hm. It seems that a scythe isn't for you. They're especially difficult to fight with because they're incredibly heavy, and they're lopsided. Don't worry though, I can barely fight with it too, so you aren't alone." She directed her attention to the sword. "Now, let's see about this one." Tenten picked it up and handed it to me after I set the scythe down.

I could hear the three behind us whispering to each other, but I couldn't make out any words. I decided to shake it off since it probably wasn't important.

Taking the sword from her by the handle, the sudden weight caused my arms to jerk down. After I caught myself, I noticed how much lighter the sword was compared to the scythe.

"You like it?" I quickly nodded. "Great! Now try to swing it as if you were fighting someone."

The weight of the heavy sword soon subsided, and I lifted it higher and behind my back. Thrusting my arms forward, I noticed how much more I liked this weapon.

"It definitely seems like that one suits you better. Now that you have a weapon, let's spar." She noticed my look of horro and laughed. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you. You're still learning, so I wouldn't do anything too rash, okay? But, a good thing you might want to test out is focusing on your chakra. Lady Tsunade informed us that you have never used your chakra before, so it's an important thing to look into." I nodded. She pulled out two kunai. "Ready? Let's go!"

I charged at her with the large sword in my hands. She easily blocked it with her kunai and side stepped, flicking her wrist in the process sending me backwards a few steps. I glanced down at the giant weapon in my hands.

_ Now that I think about it, this oddly resembles the swords from Claymore. Not completely, of course, but it looks like it has the same design and size. Maybe I could try something if I get a decent enough grasp on whatever chakra I have._

Closing my eyes and lowering the sword, I focused on the energy inside me. I felt something flow through me; it felt something similar to adrenaline, yet it felt powerful. It was hard to describe.

_ Is this what chakra feels like...? Dude, this is so awesome!_

I began to direct most of my chakra towards my arms, with a little at my feet. Before Tenten could snap out of her staring at me, I sprinted towards her. My speed increased with chakra, I swung at her.

"Wh-What..?!" I could here her mutter to herself before she backfliped out of my reach. "Nagisa, what did you do there?!" She called out to me.

"I was aiming for a type of attack I saw when I was younger. It was called 'The Flash Sword,' so I though I would give it a shot, you know?" I answered

"Great job Nagisa! Do you mind if I join you for a bit?" Lee called out from his resting spot. I nodded and gestured for him to walk over to Tenten and I. "So you did something called The Flash Sword? That sounds incredibly interesting, just like you!"

I blushed a little at his comment, not quite sure what way to take it. "Um, thanks...?" I said. "But, um, yeah. It's something I saw a while back, so I thought I would test it out to see if I could pull it off. If I wish to perfect it, then it's going to take a lot more work."

"You mean that _wasn't _The Flash Sword?" Tenten asked in disbelief. I shook my head.

"No. The Flash Sword I just performed was very off. You could see the blade and my arms moving, couldn't you? For the original, if you have it sheathed, you should be able to cut a tree in half perfectly without it appearing as if you drew your sword. I'm far off from perfection." I sighed and kicked at the dirt. "It's going to take a very long time..."

"Do not fret, my dear Nagisa!" Gai shouted from behind me. I jumped for I did not notice the two walk up behind me. "We shall teach you anything you wish to know!"

"Although, it seems as if you won't be able to use The Flash Sword again within a few hours." Neji informed them, even though it was directed at me. He switched off is Byakugan. "Tsunade was right. You do have a very abnormally low chakra supply, and it seems to be very old. It's like stretching a cold muscle; if the first thing you do is stretch, you'll damage it. You need to warm them up first." Even though his analogy was weird, I understood completely. "That's what your chakra was like; a cold muscle. It wasn't prepared to be used so quickly, so you were drained of it faster."

"I see... So next time I shouldn't The Flash Sword straight away, but concentrate on it little by little?"

"Exactly. Especially with your small chakra supply, you can only use it once every few hours or so. It uses up over half of your supply, so if you use it again then you'll die." He informed me. My eyes sightly widened in shock, more specifically horror, due to the fact that I could die if I wasn't smart enough. Lee placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Nagisa! We'll help you become a spectacular ninja in no time at all! Right, Gai-sensei?"

"Of course! We were given the responsibility to train you, and we will turn you into a fine kunoichi!" Gai responded, putting his fist up in the air with a grin. "Youl will excel in Taijutsu and the arts of the sword! I swear on my life that you will rival my pupils, dear Nagisa!"

"Uh-huh... Whatever you say..." I agreed, not really knowing where to go with these two.

"Sensei! Lee! Can I please continue to train with her?" Tenten impatiently asked. She put her hands on her hips and shooed the three off with her eyes. Once they had walked back to where they previously were, she brought her hand up to her forehead and sighed. "Geez, those two... But! Let's continue where we left off!"

After about the seventh time being beaten by Tenten, I was slowly but surely losing my patience.

* * *

"Agh!" I shoved the sword into the ground and frustratedly ran my fingers through my hair. They soon found their way to my pigtails and I yanked on them. "I can't do it! I give up! I'm just not cut out to be a ninja!"

"H-Hey...don't be like that Nagisa. I'm sure you'll catch on very quickly..." Tenten shakily assured me. The males behind us were tensed, ready to take action if need be.

"No! You said that almost two hours ago, and I've made no progress whatsoever! Just face it already! I'm a lost cause!" I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Nagisa, I don't like quitters, you should know." Gai informed me, using his rare and serious tone of voice. "If we say that we can teach you, then we can and will follow up on our promise. Got that?" I could only stare up at him with wide eyes before slightly nodding my head.

"A-Alright, I'll try again one more time. If I can't make even a little progress, then we're moving onto taijutsu."

Without giving Tenten a warning other than a nod to each other, we dashed forward, metal clinging against metal. She had managed to put most of her weight into one kunai to shove me away and swiped at me. I blocked as fast as I could, but I could feel myself beginning to falter.

"Tch." I muttered. I glared at her kunai, not angry at her, but more angry with myself. Why couldn't I at least be decent with a sword?! Yes, I know it takes years to become a master with one, but she showed me how to fight with it and everything! Even the hand positions that I could use, and the different types of swings!

_ Why did I even think that I could qualify as a ninja?I should've known from the start that I wouldn't be able to be one of them! I never wanted to be so humiliating!_

I let out a loud shriek as I swung sideways at Tenten, who was unable to step back and jumped upwards. The tree behind her had a very deep cut in it, which also happened to be steaming.

"Uh, Nagisa? Are you alright?" I heard her jump down behind me.

"Oh! I'm just _dandy!_ What about you?" I answered, my voice dripping with anger.

"N-No, that's not what I meant..." She trailed off as the others cam running towards us.

"Nagisa, this was supposed to be just a spar with weapons only, no chakra!" Gai scolded me. I was utterly confused by this statement.

"What are you talking about? If I had used chakra, it would have been obvious, most likely. I've only been using the sword." I informed him. Wow, was he really that dense?

"No, you most definitely used chakra. Look at the sword." He gestured. I glanced down to said object, and nearly threw it across the field.

"Wh-What?! Why is it steaming?!" I exclaimed.

"That's what we were trying to figure out. I checked your chakra supply, and it doesn't seem like it went down at all, yet you clearly used some..." Neji pondered.

"Nagisa-chan, do you mind if you do that again?" Lee asked, either out of curiosity or to help figure out what was happening.

"I can try, I suppose. No guarentees, though." I uttered in response.

I placed my hands onto the handle of the sword, which was still embeded into the ground, and concentrated on whatever kind of power that was. It felt like forever and nothing had happened, and I was beginning to get ticked off.

"Dammit, come on! Why the hell isn't this working?!" I shouted with my eyes squinted. I felt the tension quickly turn to shock. Opening my eyes, I noticed the four were staring at me with wide eyes.

"No way..." Tenten gasped, holding a hand up to her mouth.

"Is this for real?" Lee, astonished, questioned.

"How can this be..?" Neji, a less dramatic expression plastered upon his face, whispered.

"I-Impossible..." Gai insisted. "Neji, check her chakra supply." He ordered.

The Hyuuga immediately activated his Byakugan and scanned me over.

"She...She isn't using up any of her chakra, Gai-Sensei." He informed when he finished.

"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that...?!" I countered, taking a step back.

"You mean you can't feel it?" Tenten asked in disbelief.

"Feel what?!"

Lee took the chance to answer me. "Nagisa-chan, your entire body is engulfed in flames."

* * *

"Okay, let me get this straight." I stated, walking back and forth. By now, the flames had disappeared. "Apparently, I can use fire by will, and it doesn't drain me of my chakra? Are you sure it isn't damaging me elsewhere?"

"Not from I can tell, no." Neji reassurred me.

"We may need to inform Lady Tsunade about this immediately..." Gai whispered to himself. Now, to me. "You could be a very powerful kunoichi if you learn to control it at will, Nagisa."

"R-Really? Thank you, I'm happy to hear that..." I smiled softly at the ground.

"So, you are unable to feel the fire, Nagisa-chan?" Lee questioned purely out of interest.

"Not from what I can tell, no. That's what is so strange about this. If I were able to use fire without chakra, then okay, that's a little strange but not bad. The fact that I am not hamred by it is a little unnerving..." I explained for him.

"As much as I would prefer to continue training, it is becoming dark. We may as well report to Lady Tsunade now." Gai cut in. "As you had just explained, it is even more abnormal than it should be."

"Alright, you do prove a point. Let's just go inform the Hokage so I can also find a place to stay for the night. I only arrived here this morning, after all." I muttered. The others nodded in agreement as we were about to leave the training grounds.

"Oh, Tenten!" I drew her attention towards me. "I should probably give this back to you, sorry." I handed her the sword, only to have her push it away.

"No, I think you should keep it. I can always get another one, and it seems to suit you. Take it as a welcome gift, okay?" She winked at me.

"A-Are you serious? I can actually have it?" I whispered. She nodded and chuckled. "Thank you so much! I knew I would have more reasons to like you!" She blushed and continued walking.


End file.
